I’ve spent the last week and a half in isolated surroundings in upstate NY. I could probably tell you the details of every single face-to-face conversation I’ve had in the past ten days, from a brief discussion with the FedEx guy about moving my car so he could back out of the driveway to apologizing to my dentist for all the chocolate-covered licorice I ate in Iceland. I like having these periods of quiet time to myself, because it gives me a chance to slow down, focus on work, and just really enjoy being a super introvert. And getting to spend that time in a rural, woodsy setting makes it even better. I ran along trails, I took care of my mom’s garden, and I was absolutely delighted to discover that there were ripe raspberries and black raspberries all along the driveway.

Hey there! I’m back on U.S. soil after two eventful and amazing weeks in Iceland and Sweden. The past month has just been a complete blur. One minute we were saying farewell to all our Cape Cod workshop attendees, and then it seemed like I blinked and found myself in the Reykjavik airport, semi-delirious from a sleepless red-eye flight and so thankful to have found Eva within five seconds of exiting Customs. I blinked again and we were laughing and eating with a wonderful group of ladies on the shore of a beautiful lake in the Swedish countryside, and then in a flash I was home in Vermont. I can’t wait to share all of those adventures with you guys in the near future. But first, it’s time for berry-filled dutch babies and details about another upcoming workshop!

Just a little over a month ago, Eva and I were in the midst of hosting our photography, styling, and cheesemaking workshop in an adorable little lakeside cottage in Plymouth, MA. Now, as I write this post, we’re relaxing in a lovely apartment in downtown Stockholm with Izy, ready to head south for our Sweden workshop.

I can’t believe how quickly the past month has flown by, and that another workshop is just days away from beginning! Our last one was amazing (in case you couldn’t tell from the epic cheese spread above). We spent the weekend in a cozy little cottage on the ponds of Plymouth, surrounded by perfect New England spring weather and great company. We ate tons of food, including savory french toast, delicious clam chowder, caramelized ramp dip, and a strawberry gingerbread dutch baby (recipe for that coming soon!). We celebrated two birthdays. We ate cheese. We made cheese. We ate more cheese. It was awesome.

We’re finally starting to see signs of spring here in Vermont. All the snow is gone, there’s one lone tulip in my garden, and my downstairs neighbor and I had our first porch beers of 2015. It’s currently rainy and chilly, but I’ll happily take it after our never-ending winter of ice and snow and grossness. I wanted to be excited for spring when the asparagus started showing up, but that’s kind of hard to do while you’re wearing a winter coat and still craving soup. But last week there was rhubarb and tons of pretty pastel-colored flowers at the store, and it finally felt like spring to me. It seemed appropriate to celebrate with some drinks.

This post has been taking shape in my head for over a year now. It began with my first EatingWell shoot, had some well-established roots by the time I ditched my cookbook deal, and became a topic I realized I wanted to address last fall, after Eva and I discussed professional photo shoots and rates with our upstate NY workshop attendees. It sat in the back of my mind up until a few days ago, when hearing Alanna briefly revisit her own very similar cookbook experience and talking with Eva about how nice it is to be responsible for just one thing on a shoot brought it to the forefront. So let’s have at it, because there’s no time like the present. (Note, if you have absolutely zero interest in this topic and only care about workshops and/or cookies, skip way ahead.)